Kendrick Lamar teams on ‘pioneering’ tour series

Kendrick Lamar is teaming with international advocacy organisation Global Citizen on a “pioneering” new concert series aiming to establish a “first-of-its-kind” touring circuit throughout Africa.

The American rapper’s creative imprint pgLang will serve as the curator of Move Afrika up to 2028, with plans to expand the “long term, large scale effort” to five countries over the next two years.

Lamar will headline its debut major music event at the 10,000-cap BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda on 6 December. Tickets are priced from 50,000-85,000 Rwandan francs (€38-65).

“Our goal with Move Afrika is to inspire local youth and artists to unlock their creativity,” says a statement from pgLang. “We hope to curate an immersive experience that empowers various communities and cultures across Africa and around the world for a lifetime.”

Rwanda will host Move Afrika for the next five years in partnership with the Rwanda Development Board. Further countries will then be added to the tour schedule each year.

“Move Afrika will drive transformative investments across Africa through the pioneering of a world-class touring circuit”

Move Afrika is bidding to set “a new gold-standard for entertainment touring events”, while increasing demand from international and regional artists to tour in the region and building local capacity within host cities. It is designed to drive transformative investments within local communities, engage local artists, vendors, agencies and crews, and provide opportunities for on-the-job skill development and training.

“Africa is driving culture and creativity globally, but the continent has been left out of the global music touring circuit for too long,” says Global Citizen co-founder and CEO Hugh Evans. “By moving from one-off events to the sustained commitment of an annual tour, Move Afrika will drive transformative investments across Africa through the pioneering of a world-class touring circuit.

“Move Afrika will pave the way for many more artists to tour the continent, while generating new economic opportunities within the entertainment industry for Africa’s booming youth generation. We are incredibly excited to bring this vision to life with pgLang and Kendrick Lamar, and are grateful for our partnership with the Rwanda Development Board, who share our belief in this vision.”

Move Afrika is Global Citizen’s latest effort to address the world’s inequities by creating job and entrepreneurship opportunities through live events. The organisation’s previous events in Africa include: Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100, which brought Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Ed Sheeran, Usher, Eddie Vedder and Chris Martin to Johannesburg, South Africa in 2018.

In addition, Global Citizen Live: Lagos featured Davido, Femi Kuti, and Tiwa Savage at Fela Kuti’s New Afrika Shrine in 2021, while Global Citizen Festival: Accra brought Usher, SZA, Stormzy and TEMS to Black Star Square in 2022.

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